What is "prothesis"

Prosthesis \Pros"the*sis\, n. [L., fr. Gr. ? an addition, fr. ? to put to, to add; ? to + ? to put, place.]

1. (Surg.) The addition to the human body of some artificial part, to replace one that is wanting, as a log or an eye; -- called also prothesis.

2. (Gram.) The prefixing of one or more letters to the beginning of a word, as in beloved.

from Greek prothesis "a placing before, a placing in public," from pro (see pro-) + thesis (see thesis). In ecclesiastical sense from 1670s; grammatical from 1870. Related: Prothetic (1835 in grammar); prothetical; prothetically.

Etymology 1 n. (context linguistics English) The prepending of phonemes at the beginning of a word without changing its morphological structure, as in (term: nother), from (term: other) (“a whole nother thing”), or Spanish (term esfera Spanish) from Latin (term sphaera sphere Latin). Etymology 2

n. a type of preparatory ceremony, part of the Divine Liturgy of the Eastern Orthodox Church

Prothesis may refer to:

• Prothesis (liturgy)
• Prothesis (altar)
• Prothesis (linguistics)
• A form of the custom of lying in repose in Ancient Greece; see Ancient Greek funeral and burial practices

In linguistics, prothesis (from post-classical Latin based on Ancient Greek πρόθεσις próthesis 'placing before'), or less commonly prosthesis (from Ancient Greek πρόσθεσις prósthesis 'addition') is the addition of a sound or syllable at the beginning of a word without changing the word's meaning or the rest of its structure. A vowel or consonant added by prosthesis is called prothetic or prosthetic.

Prothesis is different from the adding of a prefix, which changes the meaning of a word.

Prothesis is a metaplasm, a change in spelling or pronunciation. The opposite process, the loss of a sound from the beginning of a word, is called apheresis or aphesis.

The Prothesis is the place in the sanctuary in which the Liturgy of Preparation takes place in the Eastern Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Churches.

The Prothesis is located behind the Iconostasis and consists of a small table, also known as the Table of Oblation, on which the bread and wine are prepared for the Divine Liturgy. It is most often placed on the north side of the Altar, or in a separate chamber (itself referred to as the Prothesis) on the north side of the central apse.

Originally, the Prothesis was located in the same room as the Holy Table, being simply a smaller table placed against the eastern wall to the north of the Holy Table. During the reign of the Emperor Justin II (565–574), it came to occupy its own separate chamber to the north of the sanctuary, having a separate apse, and joined to the Altar by an arched opening. Another apsed chamber was added on the south side for the Diaconicon. So that from this time forward, large Orthodox churches were triapsidal (having three apses on the eastern side). Smaller churches still have only one chamber containing the Altar, the Prothesis and the Diaconicon.

In the Syriac Churches, the ritual is different, as both Prothesis and Diaconicon are generally rectangular, and the former constitutes a chamber for the deposit of offerings by the faithful. Consequently, it is sometimes placed on the south side, if by doing so it is more accessible to the laity.

In the Coptic Church, the men will enter the Prothesis to receive holy Communion (the women receive in front of the Holy Doors), and must remove their shoes before entering.